A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Given “Market Perform” Rating at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer reiterated their market perform rating on shares of A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com lowered A. O. Smith from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $88.50.

A. O. Smith Stock Performance

AOS stock opened at $86.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.25. A. O. Smith has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $89.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.05.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $988.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $985.89 million. A. O. Smith had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 14.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that A. O. Smith will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. A. O. Smith’s payout ratio is presently 34.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at A. O. Smith

In other A. O. Smith news, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Idelle K. Wolf sold 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $65,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Heideman sold 9,890 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.63, for a total transaction of $836,990.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $800,176.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,631 shares of company stock valued at $8,042,535 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of A. O. Smith

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in A. O. Smith by 4.7% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 3.2% during the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,762 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 4.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 33,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,740,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the second quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.10% of the company’s stock.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.